Douse means to extinguish or wet thoroughly. The firefighters doused the flames with water most of the night. Dowse means to look for water or minerals with a divining rod. It was common for the pioneers to dowse for water on the trail.
Category: Confusing Words
Difference between Doubtful and Dubious
Doubtful means to be uncertain. It’s doubtful if we will ever know who technically won the election. Dubious refers to doubt or uncertainty about something. The official gave a dubious reply when asked about the proposed tax cut.
Difference between Dosage and Dose
Dosage refers to a regimen of something and dose refers to a specific amount. Patients received an initial dose of 20 mg and thereafter a dosage of 10 mg twice a day for a month.
Difference between Dominant, Dominate and Domineer
Dominant means commanding or controlling over all others. The largest wolf is usually dominant in the pack. Dominate means to control, govern, or regulate something. Their software dominates the financial services industry. Domineer means to exercise arbitrary or overbearing control. The strong will of a few can sometimes domineer a community.
Dogmatic vs Pragmatic
Dogmatic means arrogantly authoritative or overbearing. His dogmatic and demanding personality did not fit in well here. Pragmatic means practical. Pat takes a pragmatic approach to teaching children.
Difference between Doggy dog world and Dog-eat-dog world
Dog-eat-dog-world is the correct phrase. It means that the world is ruthlessly competitive and derives from a sixteenth century proverb that people may revert to the animal laws of survival. With shrinking markets, it’s now a dog-eat-dog world for many companies.
Difference between Doctor and Physician
Doctor refers to anyone who has been granted a doctor’s degree. Physician is a general term for a doctor of medicine, someone legally qualified to practice medicine. All physicians are doctors of medicine, but not all doctors practice medicine.
Difference between Disused and Unused
Disused means no longer in use. Developers recently bought the disused airfield. Unused means not used. Unused flight coupons must be returned with the claim form.
Difference between Distraught and Diswraught
Distraught is the correct word.
Difference between Distinct and Distinctive
Distinct means clearly apparent, discrete, separate, or obvious. A distinct improvement in giving helped many families last year. Distinctive means distinguished or standing out as different. Hayward’s distinctive voice has won the band many fans.
Difference between Dissatisfied and Unsatisfied
Dissatisfied means not satisfied and has a critical connotation. They were dissatisfied with the food and service at the diner. Unsatisfied also means not satisfied, but doesn’t necessarily imply criticism. His hunger was unsatisfied despite the large meal he ate.
Difference between Displace and Misplace
Displace means to shift, change, or move. Last summer the raging floods displaced many residents. Misplace means to lose something or put it in the wrong place. It’s easy to misplace a punctuation mark in a complex sentence.